U.S. Briefs: Louisiana fishes for crawfish plant workers

Louisiana kicked off the 2026 crawfish season by crowning a queen and extending an official pardon to Tony the Crawfish, but the industry is facing significant harvesting challenges. Plants that process the freshwater crustaceans are operating at a diminished capacity because visas for foreign guest workers haven’t come through. According to longtime state Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, plants that commonly hire more than 100 laborers at harvest time haven’t been able to hire any. “Without getting these workers, the plants will shut down,” he warned. “Or, as has happened in the past, they will fill up tractor trailer loads of these crawfish, send them down to Mexico, get them peeled, and bring them back.” Under the federal H-2B program, foreign workers can take temporary, non-agricultural jobs when there aren’t enough qualified U.S. workers, then return home. It’s a pipeline many of the state’s crawfish plants use, but allotted visas are capped, and Louisiana reached the threshold before factories were fully staffed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Louisiana’s unemployment rate stands at about 4.2%. More than 88,000 residents reported being jobless in December. —Kim Henderson

Missouri

The state Department of Social Services could soon get a new division designed to reverse the epidemic of fatherlessness. On March 2, lawmakers in the state House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to create the Missouri Fathership Project. It would provide funds to nonprofits and ­community organizations that support dads who want to “reestablish and strengthen ­relationships with their children.” The effort is modeled after a similar program in Florida, where the Christian nonprofit Man Up and Go works with fathers who have lost custody of their children and are trying to navigate the foster care and court systems. Groups that work with the program also help fathers fill out job applications and work on their parenting skills. The measure won rare bipartisan support. —Leigh Jones

Ohio

In March, Ohio House lawmakers voted to preemptively ban ranked choice voting (RCV) in their state before any cities had a chance to adopt it. Two Democrats joined House Republicans in a 63 to 27 vote that drew unanimous GOP support. The Ohio Senate passed SB 63 last May, but must vote again on the bill as amended. Only one lawmaker, Democrat Ashley Bryant Bailey of Cincinnati, argued against the bill, saying it strips local municipalities of an impor­tant freedom and concentrates power in the Capital. At least two cities had actively considered a switch. Supporters argue RCV would be costly and confusing to implement. Currently, Alaska and Maine use RCV for statewide elections, while other states use the system for certain elections. —Grace Snell

Connecticut

Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont used his line-item veto power on March 3 to slash $4 million in grants and earmarks in an emergency-certified bill. Lawmakers passed the measure the previous week on a fast track, bypassing committee review and hearings. Lamont’s move to cut legislatively directed funds, known as earmarks, put him at odds with Democrats. Republican lawmakers drove calls for more vetting and details about grants to six organizations. One vetoed item provided $750,000 this year and next to CREC, the Capitol Region Education Council, for a teacher training program. The program employs state Sen. Douglas McCrory, a Democrat under investigation by the FBI for potential fraud. Other funding cuts included $2.5 million for outdoor recreation in Hartford. Lamont noted he objected to the process, not the organizations. Approving provisions without clear guardrails “would perpetuate a system that lacks consistent transparency and enforceable standards,” he said. Lamont, who is running for his third term this year, said Connecticut residents have asked for more accountability on how legislatively directed funds are “proposed, reviewed, and distributed.” —Mary Jackson

New Hampshire

Proposed legislation that would ease restrictions on home education is advancing in the New Hampshire State House. Labeled the Home Education Freedom Act, the new law would make New Hampshire one of the least-regulated states in the country, according to Republican Rep. Kristin Noble, the bill’s lead sponsor. Current law requires parents to notify school officials of their intent to home­school. They must also keep curriculum records and conduct yearly academic evaluations of their children. Under the new proposal, one-time notification and the yearly evaluation would be optional. The bill would also exempt homeschooled students from existing laws limiting the hours and days each week they can work. Additionally, it would require that the Division for Children, Youth, and Families treat homeschool programs with the presumption that they are valid education. Homeschooling advocates who champion the changes say the bill represents a paradigm shift, eliminating the presumption that families who choose to homeschool are acting in bad faith. —Kim Henderson

Delaware

The state Supreme Court on Feb. 27 upheld the constitutionality of a law that aims to safeguard the state’s appeal to major corporations. The law—known as Senate Bill 21—reformed the state’s corporate law. It included a provision to shield company leaders from some types of lawsuits brought by smaller investors. The law traces its roots to a 2024 ruling by a Delaware Chancery Court—which handles business ­matters—that voided Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s pay package of $56 billion. In response, Musk moved the legal headquarters of Tesla and SpaceX out of Delaware and encouraged other business leaders to do the same. The Delaware Supreme Court restored his pay in 2025. Over 1.9 million businesses are registered in Delaware, and they generate over $2 billion in revenue for the state annually. Gov. Matt Meyer hailed the ruling in a statement. “Delaware is the gold standard locale for global companies to do business,” he said. —Emma Freire